This is the second book by C.S. Lewis I’ve read after Mere Christianity. Though short, it took me several days to finish.
In heaven, everything is solid and real. The ghosts can’t handle this reality, mainly because of their own mindset. Hell starts from a tiny thought and grows when exposed to heaven’s truth. These thoughts can grow until they take over the soul, making the ghosts unable to bear heaven’s reality, forcing them back to Earth. This shows why no sin is truly small.
It’s interesting how murderers can live in heaven, while their victims sometimes can’t. Children can stay in heaven, while their overly attached mothers can’t. One spouse may find peace in heaven, while their deeply devoted partner cannot stay. The ghosts feel this is unfair and demand justice. But they don’t see that LORD’s fairness works differently from human fairness. His justice lies deeper than what we can understand.
Only by letting go of our ’lizard’ can we fully enjoy heaven. What’s amazing is that even this ’evil’ lizard can become a flying horse in heaven - our struggles can transform into strength. Our painful memories and past sins can become paths to salvation if we change how we think about them.
I enjoy Lewis’s writing because he uses imagination to share deep truths. Reading his words feels like floating in a dream while discovering profound ideas. His books have opened the door for me to Christianity.